Free Frozen Past by Richard C Hale Page B

enough. His hunger had taken over and it was like a living thing. No cat, or raccoon, or lost dog was going to satisfy his urge and he knew the time had come. He had been under control for a very long time now, and he thought his routines had left nothing to be desired. He knew now that it had all been just a ruse. He had been fooling himself and delaying the inevitable. He may have even made it worse.
    He lay in wait at his chosen place, like he had done numerous times in the past. Fortunately, he had not followed through then, forcing himself to see things as they were and letting the urge pass. Tonight, that was not going to happen. His lust for this release was going to win and he could feel himself on the verge of total bliss. He lay in wait.
    The boy approached. Alone, distracted, not a care in the world. The blood rushed through the killer’s veins and he could hear it sing, the notes a cacophony of tension and anticipation. As the boy drew closer, he imagined the blood of his victim and the notes it would play as the pulse slowed and the pressure waned. He’d heard it before and thirsted to hear it again.
    As the boy passed, he spoke the words and knew there was no turning back.
    “Help me…”
    The boy stopped.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 13
     
     
    Jaxon felt déjà vu. He was standing over another boy who had just been pulled from the same pool and the paramedics were working hopelessly trying to revive him.  It wasn’t going to happen. He knew it, the paramedics knew it, and Sally knew it. The kid was gone.
    The crowd stood quietly in the cold night air in utter disbelief that this could be happening in their quiet suburban lives. Jaxon knew they believed they had chosen a place to live and raise their families free from the activities and discretions of the less desirable among the human race. He knew they were questioning their skewed perceptions and asking themselves ‘ What now? We were supposed to be immune to this kind of thing. ’ Immunity was a fragile thing. If you let a bad germ in, it could corrupt the whole system. Jaxon had seen it many times before.
    “There are no footprints this time,” Sally said. “At least none we can see. We’ve contaminated this part of the scene and that’s probably where he was brought in and dumped.”
    He nodded and turned away, scanning the crowd. “You’re out there. I can feel it,” he whispered.
    “What did you say, boss?” Sally asked.
    He shook his head. “This is going to get bad. You know what this could be, right?”
    She hesitated and he could tell she wasn’t sure. He knew she was a good cop and a hell of an investigator, but she had little experience with this kind of thing.
    “It’s definitely not an accident,” she said lamely.
    “The FBI is probably going to pay attention now. We may have someone who is going to keep doing this.”
    “Serial?”
    He nodded.
    “Shit.”
    “Yes—shit,” he said. “This will get complicated.”
    “Are we even sure it’s the same guy?”
    “What’s your gut feeling on it?” he asked, the teacher now.
    “It’s the same guy.”
    He nodded. “Alright, let’s get the Crime Scene techs here and go over this place with a fine tooth comb. I want some uniforms working the crowd right now to see if anybody saw anything. The first kid gets his autopsy now. We need to know what killed him and who the hell he is.”
    “On it,” she said, and walked away to start everything rolling.
    “And find out if anybody is missing another kid!” he yelled.
     
    * * *
     
    It had been two days since they had pulled Paul Bannon from the pool and Luke was still in shock. Not only had William Smith, or whatever his real name was, killed one of his friends, he had put him out in plain sight. The guy wasn’t even trying to hide it. At least he hadn’t tried to communicate with either him or Ellie yet, but Luke knew something would be coming. He could feel it.
    Paul’s Mother had reported him missing the